Category: All | Page 33

Are Institutional Investors Voting Proxies with the Correct Mindset?

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Monday, July 15, 2013 | All, Change Overview and Rationale, Commentary, Lender Directed Voting

The federal government is not now and has never been in the business of telling you how you should vote your proxies. But it seems that through regulatory creep, the government may have indirectly given the power to tell investors how to vote their proxies to someone else entirely. Regulating disclosures and mechanics by which we vote proxies is plainly within the scope of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s mission.

On Borrowed Time. BIS Urges “A Forceful Programme of Repair and Reform”

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Wednesday, June 26, 2013 | All, Change Overview and Rationale

Central banks cannot repair the balance sheets of households and financial institutions. Central banks cannot ensure the sustainability of fiscal finances. And, most of all, central banks cannot enact the structural economic and financial reforms needed to return economies to the real growth paths authorities and their publics both want and expect. Only a forceful […]

Causes and Cures for Financial Contagion

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Sunday, June 23, 2013 | All, Change Overview and Rationale

Although it is intuitively clear that interconnectedness has some effect on the transmission of shocks, it is less clear whether and how it signiﬁcantly increases the likelihood and magnitude of losses compared to a ﬁnancial system that is not interconnected. The Office of Financial Research, a government study group created by the Dodd-Frank Act, has […]

New Wave of Lehman Litigation Looms as Filing Deadline Approaches

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Thursday, June 20, 2013 | All

Time is running out for those who are unhappy with the settlements of some 930,000 Lehman derivatives contracts. With the statute of limitations running out on filing Lehman derivatives disputes, a flood of new cases is expected from parties holding these contracts when Lehman filed for bankruptcy in 2008. An article by law firm Orrick […]

Coordination is Key, Says RMA of FSB Repo and Sec Lending Proposals

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Wednesday, June 19, 2013 | All, Change Overview and Rationale, Formal Regulatory Remedies

The Risk Management Association’s Committee on Securities Lending has filed a 40-page response to the Financial Stability Board’s recent whitepaper on shadow banking, focusing on its recommendations regarding securities lending and repo. The January 14, 2013 comment letter represents the views of the RMA and major participants in the agency securities lending markets like BNY Mellon, BlackRock, Citigroup, Northern Trust, State Street, and others.

A Whole New World of Collateral Optimization

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Wednesday, June 19, 2013 | All, Procedural Changes

“Some optimisation techniques are still taking shape due to a lack of clarity around new regulations. However, some elements must naturally precede others before it is possible to reach the next level.”

Post crisis regulatory changes have had dramatic effects on the landscape of collateral management, and amplified greatly its importance from a risk management, funding cost, and operational standpoint. As a result, financial institutions across the globe are overhauling their collateral management processes to deal more effectively with the new market for collateral. Traditionally, the concept of “collateral optimization” was limited to examining what is cheapest to deliver, assigning costs to collateral assets, mapping eligibility criteria, and centralizing collateral across business lines. But as a new white paper from 4sight Financial Software points out, in the new regulatory climate and collateral marketplace, effective optimization now requires a much more dynamic and custom-made approach.

Despite Reforms, Tri-Party Repo Remains a Fed Concern

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Wednesday, June 19, 2013 | All, Change Overview and Rationale, Formal Regulatory Remedies

In an October 14, 2013 address, William C. Dudley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, expressed some lingering concerns he and the Fed have about the tri-party repo market. Despite the reform efforts of both regulators and the tri-party repo industry, Mr. Dudley worries that tri-party repo still remains an area of significant systematic risk.

EU Court to Hear Britain’s Challenge to ESMA Powers Over Short Selling

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Wednesday, June 19, 2013 | All, Formal Regulatory Remedies

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) has announced that it will hear a challenge to EU short selling regulations on June 11, 2013. Britain’s finance ministry filed the legal challenge in June of 2012 against the European Union in an effort to limit the European financial regulators’ power to ban short-selling. Britain’s lawsuit seeks to clarify the powers granted to the European Securities and Markets Authority to halt or limit short selling across the 27-member EU nations in the event of a crisis.

Is There Such a Thing as “Too Big to Succeed?”

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Monday, June 17, 2013 | All, Change Overview and Rationale

Sifting the rubble left by the financial crisis has turned up some revealing clues about the causes of the catastrophe. At the same time, this forensic examination has given us an opportunity to do some fundamental thinking about to what extent sheer size of the financial industry contributes to the growth and success of economies, or whether size does more harm than good.

Is It Time to Rethink the Nature and Management of Financial Risks?

by David Schwartz J.D. CPA | Wednesday, May 29, 2013 | All, Change Overview and Rationale

For the most part, regulators and policy makers around the globe have “bought in” to the global regulatory reform agenda brought about by the financial crisis. But, there are differences of opinion on whether the reforms that are underway are up to the task of enhancing the resilience and robustness of the global financial system.

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